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Darah and Khyber
Darah and Khyber are the two main antagonists of Joe Camp's 1983 short-lived TV series Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince. They are Zanu's right-hand bounty hunters sent to capture Prince Yubi. In the first half, Darah was portrayed by Angie Bolling, and Khyber was portrayed by Joe Rainer. In the second half, Darah was portrayed by Anna Holbrook, and Khyber was portrayed by Dallas Miles. Personality Darah is less overt than Khyber and more subtle, yet just as quick to chase after Yubi or Benji and fall for one of Benji's tricks. Khyber is not overly concerned about Earthlings noticing his Antarian attire, except in rare moments when he wishes to impersonate a particular Earthling, such as when he put aside his normal Antarian dress for an Earth business suit in order to impersonate TJ Parker's father in the episode "Double Trouble". In general, Earthlings respond negatively to Khyber, though they may tell him what he wants to know in order to get him to leave them alone. Biography They are two bounty hunters led by a tyrant named Zanu and are from a planet in another galaxy called Antars. They also have a level 10 droid named Zord to help them capture Prince Yubi in the later episodes. In order to survive on Earth, Antarians must wear a special bracelet, known as a cipher. Most of the plot involves Darah and Khyber chasing Benji, Zax and Yubi in a black Chevy van, and their efforts almost always end in failure, usually due to some failure of one or both of them combined with Benji's quick thinking and loyal assistance. There is never any doubt that Benji is a major heroic figure for this show who seems to do an often better job protecting his highness than the level 2 droid assigned to him. This is logical since the atmosphere is likely to be very different on Antars than on Earth. Every Antarian in the series is highly protective of their cipher, experiencing the immediate onset of fatigue as a result of its theft (Benji steals first Darah's then Khyber's cipher in the episode "Goldmine" to force them to share a cipher and therefore rendering them unable to detect the nearby orgon signature from Trask's ship). Appearances ''The Prince and the Bag Lady'' While Benji and Zax head out to town, Benji notices the two hunters wearing ciphers and showing a picture of Yubi and warns Zax. Zax realizes that they've come to capture Yubi and take him back to Antars before the hunters spot them. The pair are chased through an alley and into a junkyard. While eluding the hunters, Zax accidentally damages himself, knocking him unconscious and Benji hides him before leading the hunters away. Benji warns Yubi and they search for Zax before the hunters could catch them, only to discover that Zax has disappeared. Yubi is confronted by the hunters and they chase him until a woman named Lucy stops them and Zax falls out of her kart. The hunters capture him and take him to their hideout with Benji following them. Benji distracts them and manages to rescue Zax. However, the hunters continue their search, but Lucy distracts them, while the trio manage to escape. ''U.F.O. The trio notice a news article about an Antarian spacecraft discovered by a man named Harwell Thompson and head to town to investigate. Benji and Zax notice Thompson being harassed by a group of kids and they follow him. Yubi heads over to the hotel where Thompson resides, where he reveals himself to be an Antarian and kidnaps him. Meanwhile, the hunters know his true motives and head after him with Benji following them. Thompson captures Zax as well and the hunters arrive at the hotel. Thompson takes the pair to another room, but Benji leads the hunters to the room where Thompson is and confront him. Benji manages to rescue them and the hunters head in to capture them, but are distracted by the two photographers and discover that they have already escaped. ''The Day of the Hunter When Benji goes out to town, the hunters spot him and follow him to their hideout. They discover Yubi's spacecraft and decide to use it so they can capture Yubi and use Benji. Yubi and Zax hear about their spacecraft on the news and head over to investigate, where Yubi is captured by the hunters. The spacecraft opens as Benji exits the ship and he is chased by the photographers until Zax scares them away. Benji and Zax discover a number of powerful generators from Antars known as orgones and realize that Yubi and the hunters are in a nearby warehouse. Benji sneaks in, while Zax distracts the hunters. Benji manages to rescue Yubi before the hunters could power up their spacecraft and the trio escape by hijacking their van. ''Goldmine'' The trio meet up with a man named Montana and decide to settle in with him to help him herd cattle, while fending off rustlers. Benji and Zax scare off the rustlers inside his goldmine and discover his spacecraft. Montana tells the trio about his story with Zanu and reveals himself to be Trask, who was presumed to be dead. Trask is determined to see their home-planet once more and the trio decide to help him repair his spacecraft. Meanwhile, the hunters head over to Trask's home in search for the trio. The pair interrogate Trask and search his cabin, but find nothing and leave. Darah searches Trask's information and realizes the truth. Benji steals Darah's cipher then Khyber's to force them to share one cipher, rendering them unable to detect the nearby orgone signature from Trask's ship. Trask leaves and the pair are forced to flee. ''Goodbye to Earth'' When Yubi gets a job at NASA in Houston, the hunters hear about it on the news and head out to find him. It turns out that he wants to go back to Antars to see his mother again, in spite of Zax's warnings. The pair head to a restaurant and Khyber asks a waitress where Houston is. Khyber is insulted by a cowboy named Culpepper and destroys much of the restaurant in retaliation before leaving. The pair arrive at the station, but the control booth guard asks for a pass, while Culpepper passes by with Benji accompanying him. The hunters return and brainwash the guard into letting them in. A passing lady lets Benji out of the car and the guards chase him. As Yubi prepares takeoff, they notice the guards catch Benji and give them to the hunters. Yubi steps out of the ship and demands them to give back Benji. Culpepper snatches their brainwashing tools in retaliation and forces them to leave. ''Ghostown'' When Farley and BJ Matthews mistake Yubi for a runaway, they decide to ransom him back to his parents and become rich with his cipher. The hunters hear about it in the newspapers and bring their droid, Zord to help them successfully capture Yubi. The brothers catch Benji and lock him away before getting called by the hunters. Khyber promises them $200k and they head over to their hideout. Meanwhile, Zax warns Yubi about the hunters and they search for Benji. The brothers are confronted by the pair and Benji breaks out. Zord shoots lasers at Benji, but misses, shocking Farley. The hunters force the brothers into the building and order Zord to search for Benji. Benji comes out and flings their lasers across the room, allowing the two brothers to tie them up. Benji informs Zax about Zord and they come up with a plan to defeat him. Benji leaps onto Zord and Zax destroys him. Benji disposes the hunters' lasers and they leave the ghostown. ''Puppy Love'' Yubi decides to stay at their hideout and Zax is overly worried about his safety, not caring if the hunters are still pursuing them. Yubi heads over to the roller rink and meets up with a girl named Tanya with Benji and Zax following them. They discover the hunters waiting at the entrance and notice Tanya wearing a cipher. Yubi refuses to believe them and they head to the roller rink to confront her. Zax holds her hostage and she explains that she actually loves Yubi, while Benji comes up with a plan to lead the hunters away. A chase is ensued until Benji is cornered in an alley. They capture Benji and they attempt to brainwash him. They order Benji to lead them to Yubi, but Benji tries to run away, proving that the brainwashing affect wasn't enough. Zord orders them to keep up with him and Benji leads them in a one-way street, causing them to collide with a police car and get arrested. ''Double Trouble'' When a local boy named TJ Parker commits minor theft at a store, he is captured by the hunters and Yubi is arrested as a result, due to their striking resemblance. Benji warns Zax and they come up with a plan to rescue them both. When the hunters realize that the boy they captured is actually an Earthling, Zord orders them to take him back, but Parker refuses and insists on coming along and they reluctantly decide to have him along. The pair impersonate Parker's parents in order to capture Yubi and head off to the police station, while Benji and Zax manage to rescue Parker. When Chief Payton refuses, Khyber threatens him and he reluctantly tells him the boy's location. As the two hunters head out, Benji stops them, allowing the cops to arrest them. Benji shows them the van where Parker is and the officers set the hunters free, due to them being aliens. ''Don't Fence Me In'' Zax slowly begins to malfunction and Yubi runs away when he's had enough of being bossed around by him, while Benji heads to the store to buy new batteries for Zax. While Yubi becomes an unwitting pool shark, Benji is being watched by the hunters. Zord offers another attempt to brainwash him, but Darah refuses, since the brainwave manipulator is designed for humans. The hunters step out of the van to catch Benji, but Benji is alerted by their presence when the girls notice them and flees. One of the baseball players mocks them and Khyber blows up his baseball bat. While Yubi is confronted by another pool shark named Big Eddie, Benji leads the pair to their location. Khyber demands Yubi, but Benji knocks over a jar of balls, causing the hunters to slip and allowing them to escape. ''The Flying Lesson'' While the trio get a job from a couple of veterinarians and attempt to fix Len Janson's World War II plane, the hunters detect Yubi's location and head after them. Zax notices them and they are forced to flee. When the hunters begin shooting lasers at them, Sugarfoot the horse intervenes, but is gravely injured in the process. The trio inform Len about his plane and they decide to use it to get Sugarfoot to a faraway animal shelter. As they prepare the plane, they notice the hunters coming, but they manage to escape in time. They eventually manage to get Sugarfoot to the shelter and return home, while the hunters are waiting at an airport in Austin for the trio to arrive. Darah begins to complain, but Khyber is convinced that they will eventually arrive. ''Decoy Droid'' Zax gets trapped in a culvert after getting attacked by a bigger dog and Benji comes to warn Yubi, but the hunters capture him and send an evil droid named Circon to impersonate Zax. Circon informs Yubi that their safe location is an abandoned cabin in the woods, where the hunters are waiting. Khyber is convinced that Circon knows how to manipulate Yubi, but Zord is convinced that the plan will fail, since level 2 droids have many personality quirks. Benji sees under the trick and realizes that he doesn't have arachnophobia, unlike Zax. He begins attacking Circon and a chase is ensued until Benji leads him into the same culvert before shutting him off. However, the hunters return and switch him back on, while Benji manages to rescue Zax. Benji leads Circon to be destroyed by the hunters and they manage to escape, while the hunters search for Zax. Trivia *Despite Zanu being the mastermind to rule Antars, Darah and Khyber are the true villains as they serve as the main threat and have bigger plans than anyone else. Plus, Zanu only appeared in the intro. *Their theme was reused in a scene in Benji the Hunted where the mother cougar chases Benji. *The only episodes to not feature Darah and Khyber are "The Locals" and "Benji Call Home". 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